On Mon, 12 Jan 2004 19:26:14 +0000, Pat Duffy wrote:

On Sat, 10 Jan 2004 13:46:06 GMT, Helen Deborah Vecht
wrote:

Pat Duffy typed

I went from Fulham Broadway (Zone 2) to Old Street (Zone 1) yesterday
intending to change from the District to the Northern at
Bank/Monument. However the passageway was closed and there are signs
directing everyone to make this connection at street level.

I am quite disturbed that I was charged £2.00 for the Fulham -
Bank/Monument district line bit and a further £1.60 for the
Bank/Monument to Old Street bit, it's hardly my fault that the subway
or escalators or whatever are being rebuilt and it is necessary to
leave and reenter the station because of this work. I did not stop
anywhere between the two platforms, I went directly from one to the
other via the signposted route.

The station staff at Old Street had no idea how to fix it. I shall
have to call the Oystercard helpline I guess.

I find this tale rather worrying. I envisage cases when a passenger is
too rushed to check what he has been charged and may not have the time
to rectify matters later.

This Sucks! Phoning the Oystercard helpline, they say that they are
unable to resolve this sort of problem (they also think Old St is a
National Rail Station and has no tube service) and it has to be fixed
by tube station staff. So I talked to them at Fulham Broadway today
and they say the Oystercard helpline has to fix it!

What next?


I should add that the closed passageways at Bank and Monument are not
a figment of my imagination, it is logged at
http://tube.tfl.gov.uk/content/nexus/ :

"BANK AND MONUMENT STATIONS: Restricted interchange between the
Circle/District Lines and the Northern Line until March 2004."

Pat Duffy wrote:
On Mon, 12 Jan 2004 19:26:14 +0000, Pat Duffy wrote:

On Sat, 10 Jan 2004 13:46:06 GMT, Helen Deborah Vecht
wrote:

Pat Duffy typed

I went from Fulham Broadway (Zone 2) to Old Street (Zone 1)
yesterday intending to change from the District to the Northern at
Bank/Monument. However the passageway was closed and there are
signs directing everyone to make this connection at street level.

Is that right? I thought people were being directed down the escalators to
the DLR and then up the stairs to the Northern Line. The only connection
that is closed is the escalator shaft to the Northern Line, which was
always signed only for that purpose from the District Line platforms.
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

"Richard J." wrote in message
...
Pat Duffy wrote:
On Mon, 12 Jan 2004 19:26:14 +0000, Pat Duffy wrote:

On Sat, 10 Jan 2004 13:46:06 GMT, Helen Deborah Vecht
wrote:

Pat Duffy typed

I went from Fulham Broadway (Zone 2) to Old Street (Zone 1)
yesterday intending to change from the District to the Northern at
Bank/Monument. However the passageway was closed and there are
signs directing everyone to make this connection at street level.

Is that right? I thought people were being directed down the escalators
to
the DLR and then up the stairs to the Northern Line. The only connection
that is closed is the escalator shaft to the Northern Line [from the
Circle/District platforms]

That's right. However posters at the station say that the stairs between the
Northern line and the DLR are one-way only in the morning peak; downwards.
This allows passengers to arrive on a Northern Line train, take the stairs
down to the DLR, walk along a long passageway and then go up the escalators
(then some stairs) to Monument. The posters ask passengers wanting to make
the opposite journey to walk along King William Street to Bank Station.
There are stickers on all the ticket gates at Monument saying "no access to
Northern Line".

Those who know the layout of Bank/Monument will know that there is a third
underground route from Monument to the Northern Line, which remains open at
all times. It's a bit difficult to describe, but here it is: From Monument,
follows the signs down to the DLR. When you get down to the DLR level you
will walk past the bottom of some stairs back up to the Northern Line (the
ones mentioned above). If there is a member of staff preventing you using
these stairs then do as he suggests and continue along the main passageway
and up the escalators towards the Bank Exit. After a long walk you will see
signs which take you back *down* to the Northern Line, bringing you onto the
platforms at the Bank end. Quite a long way but probably better when it's
raining! London Underground probably don't advertise this at Monument
because it might cause congestion.

Bank/Monument is a complicated and confusing station, complicated further by
the fact that at weekends the Lombard Street ticket hall at Bank Station
(which is the nearest one to Monument) is closed, with some passageways
closed as a result.

PaulO